Secret
by paramorefan1827
Summary: This is my first harry potter fic!It's a Ron/Hermione story.Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the common room doing their homework that night. It was hard to believe that Hermione could still have homework to do considering the fact that she was about four months ahead of everyone else. Harry had finished almost all of his homework and all he had left to do was his divination assignment, which he didn't really understand. He thought about making some random predictions like he and Ron had done before. Ron however was still stuck on his first assignment; potions.

"Hermione, I need your help." Ron burst out, finally getting tired of staring at his book.

"Have you even _tried_?" She asked, sounding annoyed that he had pulled her away form her work.

"Yes, but none of it makes any sense."

"Maybe, if you'd pay attention."

"Well, I'm sorry if I actually like to have fun instead of sitting behind a book all day."

"And, what is _that _supposed to mean, Ronald?"

Harry lifted his head from his book with an amused grin plastered on his face. He could tell that there was going to be a fight.

"I'll tell you exactly what it means. It means that you don't ever have any fun. You're always in the library studying or doing homework that nobody had even been assigned yet. The library is like your home."

"Well, I'm sorry if I actually _like _to get good marks."

They were both standing now and several heads had turned in their direction.

"Are you trying to day that I'm some stupid git?" Ron yelled, his temper flaring.

"Maybe I am." Hermione retorted. Ron stared at her for a few seconds before turning towards the portrait hole.

"Where are you going?" Harry yelled after him.

"For a walk." And with that, Ron disappeared into the corridor.

"Why do we always fight, Harry? You and I never fight. Why is it that he has to start a fight practically every night?"

"Well, Hermione, he isn't the only one that starts the fights."

"What are you saying?" She turned on him angrily.

"Nothing." He said quickly, not wanting to get in a row with her too. "Are you going to apologize?" He asked as Hermione started to ether her things.

"Eventually. But, for now I'm going to go to my _home_." She said joking bitterly.

Hermione went through the portrait hole and down the deserted corridor without seeing any sing of anyone. She was thinking about what she had said to Ron and wasn't paying attention to her surroundings as a hand covered her mouth and pulled her out of the corridor and into a small empty room.


	2. Chapter 2

The hand was removed from Hermione's mouth as she turned around and wrapped her arms around Ron.

"I've been waiting all day to get you alone." He said with an exasperated sigh. He brought her lips to his with eagerness. Hermione deepened the kiss by pulling herself closer to him as Ron brought his hands up to caress her face.

"I love you." Hermione gasped as they broke their kiss to breath.

"I love you too." Ron said as he pressed his lips to hers with more fierceness.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here." Said a cold voice from behind them. Ron and Hermione broke apart instantly with fear.

"If I am correct, and I'm sure that I am, students aren't allowed in the corridors at this hour. I would think that Miss-know-it-all would know that."

"Don't talk to her like that." Ron growled furiously at Snape.

"You better watch yourself, Weasley."

"We were just about to go back to the common room, Professor." Hermione said, trying to get them out of trouble.

"Don't. Lie. To. Me. Granger. Ten points from Gryffindor."

"For what?" Yelled Ron.

"For inappropriate displays of affection, for being out past curfew, for your cheek and Granger's lies. You will also serve detention on Thursday night at six-o-clock."

"But, Sir, there's quidditch practice."

"Well, then next time I suggest you watch yourself. Thursday, six-o-clock, my office."

Snape walked them to the portrait hole to make sure that they didn't sneak off instead of going to bed. Ron made faces at Snapes back the whole time while Hermione tried to hold back her laughter. When they arrived at the portrait hole the fat lady glared at them for waking her. There was no one in the common room except for Harry, who was barely awake.

"Where've you two been? It's past curfew." Harry asked curiously.

"Um…Well, I went looking for Ron to apologize for what I'd said earlier and while we were walking back Snape stopped us and gave us detention." Hermione explained.

"For what?"

"Um…Talking too loud? Yeah, that's what it was. He said that we were disturbing other people's sleep." Hermione said, proud that she had come up with a believable excuse.

"Oh yeah, and it's on Thursday, Harry." Ron said.

"But, that's the night of quidditch practice."

"I told him that, but he didn't care." Harry and Ron both let out sighs.

"We'll talk about it some more tomorrow. I'm going to bed." Harry said, putting his books in his bag and heading up to the boys dormitories. Ron and Hermione sat in silence as they both stared at the floor.

"I think I'll be going to bed as well." Hermione said, pulling Ron out of his trance. She walked over to him and gently kissed him before going upstairs.

Ron stared at the stairs Hermione had just disappeared up for a couple for a couple of minutes before heading upstairs himself. Harry wasn't fully asleep when Ron came in with a big grin on his face. He wondered why Ron was so happy, but quickly shook it off as he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione woke the next morning in a terrific mood. It took her a couple of minutes to recall the events of the evening past. She dressed in somewhat of a trance and headed down to the common room where Harry and Ginny were waiting. It took her a minute to realize what was missing. Ron wasn't waiting with them.

"Where's Ron? Isn't he going to breakfast with us?" Hermione asked confusedly.

"He's still sleeping." Harry answered.

"Yeah, there's no use waiting for him to wake up. We'll be late for breakfast and our classes if we do." Ginny said jokingly.

"Right. So let's go before we _are_ late for breakfast. Hermione aren't you coming?" Harry asked as he noticed her walking back the opposite direction.

"I…Forgot one of my books. I'll meet you down there."

"Are you sure you don't want us to wait for you?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, go on. I don't know exactly where the book is and I might be a while." Hermione said as she waved them on. Harry and Ginny followed her orders and left the common room. Hermione waited a couple minutes to make sure that they didn't return, before she quietly went up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

She opened the door slowly, poking her head in to make sure that there was no one else left in the room. When she realized that there was no one else there, she walked silently over to Ron's bed.

"Ron…Ron…Ron!" She whispered in his ear as she shook him vigorously.

"Five more minutes, mum." He mumbled.

"Ronald Weasley, I am not your mother. Now wake up."

His mouth twitched, but he didn't open his eyes. She knew he was awake and gently pressed her lips to his. She felt his lips curve up into a smile against hers as he wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her onto him.

"Good morning. What a nice way to wake up." Ron said with a laugh. Hermione tried to move, but Ron's arms wrapped around her waist, making it impossible to move.

"_Ron_, come on. We have to go to breakfast. Let go of me."

" '_Mione,_" He groaned. "Why do you always have to ruin it? I'm joking." He said quickly as he saw Hermione glare at him.

"I'm not ruining anything. Harry and Ginny will be wondering where we are. Now, come on." She said breaking free and pulling Ron out of bed.

"Fine. Just let me get dressed and then we'll go down to breakfast."

Hermione walked out and waited by the door while Ron put on his pants. As soon as he opened the door, she closed the space between them and kissed him. They broke apart after a minute or two and walked happily down to the great hall.


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you suppose is taking Hermione so long?" Ginny asked Harry as food appeared in front of them.

"Well, she said that she didn't know where it was. I mean, she's probably still looking for it." Harry said as he put a piece of toast in his mouth.

"Have you noticed anything different about Hermione lately?"

"Like what?" He asked looking confused.

"Like how every time Ron comes in the room she blushes. Or how every time Lavender talks to him, she looks furious. She can't even stay mad at him for a day. She was mad at him last night and a couple of hours later they were best friends again."

"Are you saying that Hermione likes Ron?"

"It's a possibility. I wonder if he likes her too." She mused quietly.

"He could. He _did _get jealous of Krum. Hmm…Ron and Hermione? Maybe." Harry noticed that Ginny's attention was elsewhere. She was facing the entrance to the great hall with a curious look on her face. He followed her gaze and saw Ron and Hermione coming towards them.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Ron and Hermione arrived at the great hall in silence. Ron had to fight the urge to reach out and grab Hermione's hand. He looked over to the table and saw Harry and Ginny staring at them.

"Why are they staring at us?" He asked Hermione.

"I don't know. Let's go sit down." She said as she walked over to Ginny's side of the table. He followed her, but went and sat next to Harry. They were still staring at them, but Ron didn't notice as he started to shovel eggs onto his plate.

"Why are you staring at us?" Hermione asked finally getting irritated.

"What? So, um…Ron, I thought you were sleeping." Ginny said.

"I was, but Hermione woke me up." He said quickly turning his attention back to his food.

"I thought you had to get your book?" Harry asked.

"I did and then I decided to wake up Ron, because I knew that if he didn't wake up now that he would be late for potions." She explained.

"Oh. So what book were you looking for?" Ginny asked.

"My…Ancient Ruins book." She said as she quickly put some food in her mouth to avoid answering any more questions.

"What time is your detention tomorrow, Ron?" Harry asked.

"Six-o-clock. What do you reckon we do about quidditch practice?" Ron asked as he remembered that he would have to miss practice.

"I don't know. I guess we could have practice earlier or me and Ginny can practice in the quidditch pitch with you for a while before you go. Does that sound all right to you Ginny?"

"Yes. That's fine. I can ask Dean and some other people to come too if you want."

"That would be great. So tomorrow we'll meet up after our last class." Harry said excitedly. After they finished their breakfast Ron, Harry, and Hermione headed to the dungeons for their Potions class and Ginny went down to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures.

(A/N)Okay so this was supposed to to be chapter 5, but I can't get it to upload so I'm just going to stick it on the end of this chapter. Just so that you aren't confused, every thing below this is chapter 5. Not chapter 4.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just sat in their seats as Snape entered the room. Harry thought about sitting in between Ron and Hermione, but he didn't want them to ask questions. Snape glared at Ron and Hermione as he made his way to the front of the room.

"Turn to page two hundred and thirty four." He ordered.

Class was very awkward for Ron and Hermione. Snape constantly made snide remarks throughout the hour. Hermione's face was bright red from embarrassment and it took all Ron's energy to keep him in his seat. He wanted to get up and leave so badly. His skin was tightly stretched over his knuckles as he clutched the edge of his chair.

"Something you want to say, Weasley?" Snape said standing in front of him. Ron didn't realize that he had a furious expression on his face. He walked away when Ron didn't answer.

"Two pieces of parchment on my desk Monday morning on the draft of the living dead potion."

When class was over Ron and Harry headed to divination while Hermione went to her ancient ruins class. Professor Babbling got frustrated with Hermione for not paying attention and gave her extra homework. That wasn't the first time that she had gotten in trouble for not paying attention. She had been daydreaming about Ron and her a lot lately. As she walked to transfiguration she ran into something hard and fell backwards, dropping her books on the floor.

"Watch where you're going, Granger." Said a cold, menacing voice that could only be Draco Malfoy's. "Now I'll have to wash the mudblood off of my clothes." He said with an evil grin as he waited for Hermione to say something.

"What are you so happy about?" He asked when Hermione said nothing and continued to pick up her books, a smile still remaining on her face. "Daydreaming about Weaslebey again are we?" As soon as the words left his mouth Hermione looked at him, actually paying attention to what he was saying now.

"I wouldn't waste my time if I were you. Even weasel's not stupid enough to be with the likes of _you_. I mean, who would want an annoying, bushy haired, buck toothed, know-it-all mudblood?" Malfoy sneered. Hermione ran down the corridor, tears running down her face. She saw Harry waiting outside the transfiguration room.

"Ron went to go get his book. He…" Harry's voice trailed off as he saw Hermione crying. "What happened?" He asked, but she didn't answer him. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He put his arms around her and hugged her. He couldn't think of any other response.

"What's going on?" Said an accusing voice from behind them. Hermione turned around and saw Ron staring at them.

"Ron!" Hermione explained, her face turning red.

"You're obviously in the middle of something. Don't let me interrupt." Ron said as he turned around and walked away. He hadn't noticed the tears in Hermione's eyes and had automatically jumped to conclusions. Hermione cried after him, but he didn't stop. She turned around and sobbed into Harry's shoulder again.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Ron didn't go to the rest of his classes that day. He went back to the common room and stared at the fire absentmindedly. Hermione didn't go to the rest of her classes either. Instead, she went to the library and hid behind a book as she cried. Harry didn't know what was going on, but he knew that Ron was mad at him. He tried talking to him, but Ron just glared at him. Hermione came back to the common room later that night and sat at a table to study. As soon she came into the room, Ron got up to leave, but he was stopped by lavender.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just sat in their seats as Snape entered the room. Harry thought about sitting in between Ron and Hermione, but he didn't want them to ask questions. Snape glared at Ron and Hermione as he made his way to the front of the room.

"Turn to page two hundred and thirty four." He ordered.

Class was very awkward for Ron and Hermione. Snape constantly made snide remarks throughout the hour. Hermione's face was bright red from embarrassment and it took all Ron's energy to keep him in his seat. He wanted to get up and leave so badly. His skin was tightly stretched over his knuckles as he clutched the edge of his chair.

"Something you want to say, Weasley?" Snape said standing in front of him. Ron didn't realize that he had a furious expression on his face. He walked away when Ron didn't answer.

"Two pieces of parchment on my desk Monday morning on the draft of the living dead potion."

When class was over Ron and Harry headed to divination while Hermione went to her ancient ruins class. Professor Babbling got frustrated with Hermione for not paying attention and gave her extra homework. That wasn't the first time that she had gotten in trouble for not paying attention. She had been daydreaming about Ron and her a lot lately. As she walked to transfiguration she ran into something hard and fell backwards, dropping her books on the floor.

"Watch where you're going, Granger." Said a cold, menacing voice that could only be Draco Malfoy's. "Now I'll have to wash the mudblood off of my clothes." He said with an evil grin as he waited for Hermione to say something.

"What are you so happy about?" He asked when Hermione said nothing and continued to pick up her books, a smile still remaining on her face. "Daydreaming about Weaslebey again are we?" As soon as the words left his mouth Hermione looked at him, actually paying attention to what he was saying now.

"I wouldn't waste my time if I were you. Even weasel's not stupid enough to be with the likes of _you_. I mean, who would want an annoying, bushy haired, buck toothed, know-it-all mudblood?" Malfoy sneered. Hermione ran down the corridor, tears running down her face. She saw Harry waiting outside the transfiguration room.

"Ron went to go get his book. He…" Harry's voice trailed off as he saw Hermione crying. "What happened?" He asked, but she didn't answer him. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He put his arms around her and hugged her. He couldn't think of any other response.

"What's going on?" Said an accusing voice from behind them. Hermione turned around and saw Ron staring at them.

"Ron!" Hermione explained, her face turning red.

"You're obviously in the middle of something. Don't let me interrupt." Ron said as he turned around and walked away. He hadn't noticed the tears in Hermione's eyes and had automatically jumped to conclusions. Hermione cried after him, but he didn't stop. She turned around and sobbed into Harry's shoulder again.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Ron didn't go to the rest of his classes that day. He went back to the common room and stared at the fire absentmindedly. Hermione didn't go to the rest of her classes either. Instead, she went to the library and hid behind a book as she cried. Harry didn't know what was going on, but he knew that Ron was mad at him. He tried talking to him, but Ron just glared at him. Hermione came back to the common room later that night and sat at a table to study. As soon she came into the room, Ron got up to leave, but he was stopped by lavender.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hi, Ron." Lavender said excitedly.

"Hi." He mumbled.

"How was your day?"

"Horrible." Lavender pulled him into a hug and Ron, not caring, hugged her back. After she let go of him she pulled him over to the couch and sat down.

"Tell me all about it." She said. They started talking and when Hermione couldn't stand it anymore, she went upstairs to bed.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

When Hermione went downstairs the next morning she was forced to go back up. Ron and Lavender were sitting on the couch in a tight embrace, their mouths glued together. As she ran back up the stairs she remembered what day it was. It was Thursday. She and Ron had detention with Snape that night. She knew that it would be awkward considering the circumstances and she wasn't looking forward to it. All of the sudden she realized what she had just seen.

"Maybe he didn't really love me. If he did he wouldn't be kissing Lavender Brown right now. Would he? I know that _I _wouldn't. He must've never really loved me. Why would he? Malfoy was right." Hermione argued with herself. She waited on the stairs quietly until they were done and then she went to breakfast.

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny sat together, but Ron sat at the other end of the table with Lavender and her friends. Hermione stared at her plate the whole time while Harry and Ginny looked confusedly back and forth between her and Ron. Harry still didn't know what was going on or why he was in the middle of it. He wanted to ask Ron what he had done, but he knew he wouldn't answer him. Ron was good at giving the silent treatment. Ron kept shooting glance at Harry, but would quickly turn around when Harry would return the glance.

The day passed by uneventfully except for a couple of Neville's mishaps during classes. Every class that the three of them had together, Ron would sit with Lavender or someone else while Harry and Hermione sat quietly in their normal seats.

Later that evening, Hermione was walking down to the dungeons for her dreadful detention with Snape. She only had a couple of minutes until she was actually supposed to be there and she was walking a faster pace than normal in fear of being late. As she rounded the corner she ran into Ron and Lavender. They were talking in whispers and giggling. Hermione quickly went into Snapes office before she vomited.

Snape wasn't waiting at his desk like she thought he'd be. She sat in a nearby chair and waited. She didn't have to wait long. A few moments later Snape entered, holding Ron by the back of his shirt as he pushed him inside.

"Sorry to tear you away, Mr. Weasley." Snape said sarcastically. Ron quickly sat down in the chair next to Hermione as his face turning red. "You will be cleaning the classroom this evening. You will not be leaving until it is finished and I don't care how long it takes. Come." He said as he led them into the room. He watched them for a couple of minutes before leaving.

Like Hermione had predicted, the time spent in detention was very awkward. Every once in a while they would steal quick glances at each other, but would turn around when they were caught. When Snape came in and told them that they could leave, Hermione let out a sigh of relief. As soon as they walked out the door, Ron was enveloped in Lavender's arms.

"Oh, Ron, was it horrible? I'm so sorry you had to do it. Don't worry, you can tell me all about it." Lavender said, still hugging Ron and kissing him. Hermione turned and walked the opposite way. She ended up going the long way back to the common room so that she could avoid any chance of seeing Ron and Lavender.


	7. Chapter 7

When Hermione entered the common room she was not surprised to find Ron and Lavender kissing on the couch. She went upstairs as quickly as possible. As soon as she reached her room, she flopped down on her bed and stared at the comforter. It was while before she got bored and took out her homework. An hour later she was interrupted by Lavender coming in.

"Oh, Hermione, isn't today just wonderful?" Lavender asked with pure excitement.

"Yes, it's wonderful. Just…wonderful." She said with a sigh.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked as she came over and sat next to Hermione.

"Why?"

"I have to tell _someone_. I'm just so excited. I feel like I'm going to burst if I don't tell someone." She said. Hermione's head was preoccupied with thoughts of how wonderful it would be if she actually _did _burst.

"Fine, what is it?"

"Ron's just told me he loves me." She said smiling.

"Wha…what?" Hermione asked, not believing what she had just heard.

"Yes. He just came out and said it. I was surprised. I mean we've only been together for a couple of days. He must have had feeling for me before, but he was to shy to ask me out. But, he had to have known that I liked him too. I wasn't subtle about my feelings was I?" She asked.

"No, you were not." Hermione answered, emphasizing each word.

"I knew it. Oh, Hermione, it's so great to be loved. One day we'll get married and have kids. I've been planning my future with him for so long and now it's coming true. It's so amazing. I always thought that he was going to end up with…" She trailed off, not wanting to say what she really thought. "Someone. But, I never thought that he would end up with me."

"No, no, no!" Hermione yelled interrupting Lavender and her rambling, as she stood up.

"What's wrong with you?" Lavender asked. She was scared to be in the same room with Hermione now. She had never seen her act this way before.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be. Everything's wrong. All wrong." Hermione sank to the floor and put her head in her hands as the tears ran down her face.

"What's wrong? What are you talking about?" She asked worriedly.

"I need to get out of here." Hermione said as she stood up and quickly ran from the room.


	8. Chapter 8

(A/N) This is what's happening down in to common room while Hermione and Lavender are upstairs.

Ron stared at the stairs that Lavender just went up a couple of minutes ago. "Why did I say that? She's so annoying. How can somebody be that annoying? Why am I even trying to make her jealous? She's obviously not affected by it. She's probably upstairs thinking about Harry right now. And, why do I care? She cheated on me. I shouldn't even be thinking about her. She's just a stupid girl."

A couple minutes later he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly turned around to find out who was intruding on his privacy. Harry stood on the bottom step. He was still deciding if he wanted to be in the same room with Ron.

"What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be somewhere snogging your girlfriend?" Ron said coldly as he glared at Harry.

"This isn't just_ your_ common room. It's as much yours as it is mine. And I don't have girlfriend." He said just as coldly.

"Don't lie. I saw you the other day. You were all over each other. Does the name Hermione ring a bell?"

"Is that why you're mad at me? Hermione's not my girlfriend. And even if she was, why would you care? You two don't like each other. You've never even been on a date." Harry said. He was surprised that Ron was mad at him because of Hermione, but he couldn't help being happy that his and Ginny's guesses had been right.

"I…I don't care. I was just mad because I thought that my two best friends were hiding something from me. I don't like Hermione. She's just my friend. My best friend. And nothing more." Ron said with a sigh. He realized how stupid he'd been and was sure that Hermione wouldn't be his girlfriend again.

"Ron just tell her you being stupid. Maybe she'll forgive you and take you back. Even if she doesn't, just go say sorry. It might do you some good eventually."

Ron stared at Harry for a couple of minutes before deciding that he wasn't mad at him anymore. He got off the couch and started heading for the portrait hole without saying a word to Harry. After Harry watched Ron leave he went upstairs to bed, hoping that in the morning, Ron and Hermione's problems would be solved.


	9. Chapter 9

Ron walked quickly through the corridors to avoid any conversation. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He had too much on his mind. He craved the outside air to clear his mind and he wanted to leave the castle immediately. He walked about the grounds for a while without running into anyone, but after about twenty minutes he ran into Neville.

"Hi, Ron. What are you doing out here? Usually there is no one out here at this hour except for myself."

"Hey, Neville. I was just taking a walk to clear my mind. Why are _you_ out here?"

"I always come out here at night. Sometimes I just sit by the lake and stare at the moon. Tonight I was looking for a kind of plant I read about in Herbology. It's said to have some kind of healing powers."

"Oh. That's…cool."

"What's on your mind? It must be something serious if you're out here."

"Girl trouble." Ron said simply.

"Oh yeah. You and Lavender are together now aren't you?"

"Yeah, but probably not for long."

"Why not? You guys seemed pretty the last time I saw you. You were sitting on the couch snogging forever."

"That's just it! That's all we do. Normally I wouldn't object, but sometimes I actually want to talk. We have so little in common that we can't even carry on a conversation. And on top of all that, I just told her that I love her and I don't. I don't even know why I said it. I don't even know how someone _could _love her. She's so _annoying_!"

"I've never even had a girlfriend, but I can tell that you two won't make it. No couple should have that many problems after two days. You should just break up with her. It's never going to work."

"I'm going to, but then I have another problem."

"What?"

"I do like someone else. In fact I love her. I've just got to figure out how to get her. She probably won't forgive me for being such a jerk though."

Neville knew who he was talking about. It was no secret that he and Hermione weren't speaking. He didn't know exactly what had happened but he'd heard some people talking about it. He'd heard a couple of different stories, but he didn't know which one to believe.

"You should just forget about eh argument and apologize. If you love her, I'm sure she'll forgive you." Neville said.

"That is exactly what I'm going to do." Ron said as he ran the opposite way back to the castle. As soon as he walked through the portrait hole he was almost knocked over by Hermione, who seemed to be shocked. They both stared at each other in silence.

"You love her?" Hermione asked quietly, her voice trembling.

"Wha…?" Ron asked confused. He didn't realize what she was talking about.

"Lavender just told me that you said you love her." She said.

"I…" Ron stammered.

"Excuse me." Hermione pushed past him and ran out of the common room. Ron was about to run after him, but ran up to the girl's dormitories instead. Before he got Hermione back, he had to break up with Lavender.


	10. Chapter 10

"Lavender? Can I come in?" Ron asked as he knocked on the door. She immediately opened the door and dragged him inside.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she tried to kiss him and he pulled away.

"Um…We need to talk."

"About what?" She asked worriedly. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"Us. Earlier when I said I love you, I didn't really mean it. Truth is, I'm never going to love you. I don't think that this can work."

"What do you mean, it can't work? Why can't you ever love me?"

"I mean we need to break up. I'm in love with someone else and I can't be happy without her."

"Why couldn't you forget about her and eventually love me?"

"No offense, but you're sort of annoying and I'm never going to love someone else."

"Who is it?"

"Uh…"

"You don't even love someone else. You just want to get rid of me. Why don't you be a man and just tell me that you don't want to be with me anymore? Are you that much of a coward? I don't even know what I saw in you. You're a lying coward." She yelled.

"I'm not a lying and I'm not scared of you. I _do _love somebody else. If you must know, I love Hermione. There! Are you happy?" He yelled back.

"Why would I be happy to know that you'd choose an annoying, bushy haired, freaky, little, know it all?"

"Just because she's smarter than you doesn't make her a know it all. Maybe you're just stupid. And if anyone's annoying it's you. So what if her hair is a little bushy. I happen to like it. It distinguishes her from everyone else. _You _have no reason to hate her."

"She stole my boyfriend!"

"Even if I didn't love her, I still would've broken up with you."

"Whatever. Just get out." She said pushing him out the door. Ron was happy that it was over as he raced down the stairs and out of the common room. He ran through the corridors looking for her and when he couldn't find her inside, he decided to try outside. He returned to the common room to wait for her when he still couldn't find her outside. She had to come back eventually.


	11. Chapter 11

(A/N) This is what's happening with Hermione in the last chapter.

Hermione ran through the corridors. All her fears had come true. Ron loved Lavender and she was nothing to him anymore. "He didn't even try to deny it." She thought. She'd hoped that if she asked _him_, that he would say that Lavender was lying and that he still loved her.

She ran to a nearby tree and sat down in the shadows. She could see the black lake perfectly from where she was sitting. The tears that she'd tried to hide from Ron now flowed freely down her face. She looked at the black water and wondered how easily it would be to get killed in the water. She didn't feel like herself as she slowly stood up and walked over to the edge of the water, the grass crunching beneath her feet.

She looked at her reflection in the water and desperately wanted to sink beneath the surface and never come back. As she reached down to touch the water she heard something move behind her. She quickly turned around to see what it was.

Malfoy was standing behind her. To his right was Crabbe and to his left was Goyle. She knew that she could fight them off with spells, but she was so scared and she couldn't remember any. Usually she wouldn't have been scared, but it was dark, she was alone, and she was vulnerable.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione barely managed to get out.

"Nothing. We just saw you walking and I thought that we should get to know each other better." He said with malice. Hermione almost started to back away, but stopped herself when she remembered that she was right on the edge of the lake.

"I don't _want_ to get to know you. Leave me alone."

"Oh, come on. I'm not going to _hurt_ you." He said as he started to walk closer. When he got closer he grabbed her wrists and pinned them down to her sides.

"What are you doing? Let go of me." She said panicking. He kissed her fiercely before she could say anything else. She struggled in his grip as he went to the buttons on her shirt. Crabbe and Goyle were holding her arms down now instead of Malfoy. In the few seconds that he stopped kissing her she let out a piercing scream. Malfoy slapped her to get her to shut up and then he started kissing her again. As he started to pull her shirt off, Hermione passed out from fear.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

When Hermione woke up the next morning she was in pain. She opened her eyes slowly and realized that she wasn't in her bed. It took her a minute to figure out where she was, but when she did all the memories from the night before flashed through her head. She was in the hospital wing. She was in the hospital wing because of Malfoy. She went to move her hand and saw that another hand was holding it. She jumped immediately and pulled her hand away. She looked over to see who it was and saw a mop of red hair.

Ron was sleeping in a chair next to her bed. Hermione stared at him while she tried to remember everything that happened. She could remember some things, but everything else was a little blurry. At first all she could remember was Malfoy. Then she remembered why she's been outside in the first place. It was Ron's fault that she'd gotten hurt. If he hadn't sat there like an idiot when she asked him if he loved Lavender, then she wouldn't have been outside. Hermione stared at Ron more intently now, her thoughts accusatory.

Ron's eyes opened slowly as he yawned and stretched his arms. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes before either of them said anything.

"What are you doing? How did _I_ get here?" Hermione asked Ron, all anger forgotten. She still hadn't figured out how she'd gotten there.

"I was waiting for you to come back and when you didn't I went looking for you. I saw someone on the ground when I went outside, but I didn't know that it was you. As soon as I saw you unconscious I brought you to the hospital wing." He explained.

"Why were you waiting for me?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you and make sure that you were okay."

"Why? Why would _you_ want to make sure that _I _was okay?"

"Because…I care about you." He said as he took her hand in his. She automatically pulled her hand away.

"Don't touch me. Just… just don't." She said looking frightened.

"What happened last night?" He asked seriously. Hermione was hesitant, but she finally started to talk.

"After I ran away I went near a tree and sat down. Then Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle cornered me. And…and…and then they held my arms down so I couldn't move and Malfoy started kissing me. After he stopped I screamed. He slapped me so that I'd shut up and then he tried to take my shirt off. I don't remember anything else. I passed out." She said. She started to cry and put her head in her hands. Ron wanted so badly to hug her, but he didn't know how she would react.

"Malfoy did this to you? He hit you? I'll kill him." Ron said furiously.

"Why do you even care?" She asked icily through sobs.

"What do you mean 'Why do I even care'? Of course I care. How can you even say something like that?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend to tend to?"

"No. We're done. I broke up with her last night."

"Why would you do that? You seemed so happy."

"Well, I wasn't happy. I wasn't happy because I love _you_." He said as he leaned forward and kissed Hermione. She started to hit him so that he would stop, but it didn't work. After she moved backwards the other way he stopped. Ron looked at her confused.

"I _told_ you, don't touch me." She said as she started to cry again.

"What are you talk…You don't trust me?" He asked disbelievingly. When Hermione didn't answer he stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to earn your trust back somehow." He said as he ran out the door.

Hermione cried harder at the fact that she couldn't even trust the man she loved.


	12. Chapter 12

Ron didn't return to the hospital wing all day. Now that he and Harry weren't fighting anymore, they sat in the common room talking. Ron had told Harry what Hermione had told him. Now he and Harry were trying to think of ways to get her to trust him again.

"Well, that makes no sense. Why wouldn't she trust you if you told her that you love her?" Harry asked confused.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one she doesn't trust right now. She probably doesn't trust anyone. I just have to find a way to get her to trust _me_ again."

"Do you have any ideas of what you're going to do?"

"No, but I'm not going to do anything too extravagant. I think that if I do small things first she might trust me. If I do something too big she might get scared again. I'm just going to help her and comfort her for a while and hopefully it will help. I mean it'd be a start." Ron said with a sigh. Just then Ginny walked in.

"Hey, Ginny." Harry said flatly.

"Where've you been?" Ron asked curiously.

"I was at the hospital wing visiting Hermione. Madam Pomfrey said that she'll be able to leave in a couple of days. I can't believe that she almost drowned."

"I…What are you talking about?"

"What? I asked Hermione why she was there and she told me that she went outside last night and fell in the water. She said that someone got her out and brought her to the hospital wing, but she doesn't remember who it was." Ginny explained. Ron thought about it for a second before realizing why Hermione had lied. Of course Hermione wouldn't want everyone to know what had really happened. She'd be too embarrassed.

Ron went to bed thinking of ways to earn Hermione's trust again.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

For the next couple of days Ron spent most of his time with Hermione, even though she was usually asleep. He would just sit and watch her while she slept and he wouldn't leave until he thought that she was going to wake up. The only times he saw her when she was awake was when he brought her the homework she'd missed. He's spent one afternoon going to all of her teachers and getting the homework. Snape was reluctant, but he eventually gave Ron the homework with his usual snide comment. He usually would bring it up when he brought her lunch up to her. The only thing that she ever said to him was thank you, but even _that_ was enough for Ron, because that was the only time he ever heard her voice. He thought about bringing her some books from the library, but he didn't know what ones she liked to read.

Ron didn't want to overcrowd her or put too much pressure on her. Every night he would go to the hospital wing to see Hermione. He usually fell asleep after watching her for a while. Madam Pomfrey would end up waking him up in the morning and telling him to leave, because he wasn't supposed to be there. Hermione didn't even know that he came any other time then when he brought her lunch and her homework.

Hermione was starting to get scared that she was pushing him away and that was why he wasn't coming more often. They didn't even talk when he _did_ come. She was afraid that when she was finally ready for Ron, that he wouldn't be there anymore. The only thing that comforted her was the conversation that she and Ginny had earlier that day.

(Flashback)

"Hi, Hermione." Ginny said as she walked over to Hermione's bed.

"Hi, Ginny." Hermione replied in a sad voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Just a little lonely."

"How can you be lonely? Ron's comes in and out all day."

"No he doesn't. He only comes in the afternoon to bring me my lunch and my homework."

"No he doesn't. He comes in here every night and sleeps next to your bed in a chair. You two must talk then."

"He sleeps here every night?"

"Yes. You didn't know that?"

"No. I must have already asleep when he came. But, why would he do such a thing?"

"I don't know. You haven't talked to him all week?"

"No. Every time he comes, he just leaves after giving me my things."

"Oh." Ginny said. They were both lost in their own thoughts. Ginny was wondering why Ron never talked to Hermione or why he always slept there if she was already asleep.

Hermione was thinking about Ron and why he would sleep there. The only reason she could think of was that he was probably watching her sleep. If he was she wouldn't have felt so nervous, but she doubted that that was what he was doing. But, if he was, why wouldn't he tell her? She was determined to stay awake that night. She would catch Ron coming in and then she would ask him why he was doing it.

(End of Flashback)


	13. Chapter 13

That night Hermione lay in bed waiting for Ron to come. She wasn't facing the door, so she was going to have to listen for him. Her eyes were still open and she didn't want Ron to know that she was awake as soon as he walked in. To keep herself form getting nervous and worried, she thought about the fact that she would be going back to classes in two days.

It wasn't like she'd missed any homework or anything. She just missed being part of the class and actually learning something even though she always knew about it beforehand. She even missed the snide comments about her being a know it all from Snape. Most of all she missed being around her people. She couldn't stand being alone all the time.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the door opening. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard quiet footsteps as Ron made his way over to her bed. He pulled up a chair and sat down. Nothing happened for a couple of minutes. Hermione wanted to know what he was doing, but she didn't want to risk it.

She was surprised when he took her hand and started messaging the top of it with his thumb. She was going to say something because she still didn't want him to touch her, but after a couple of seconds it became soothing. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed him holding her hand. She decided that she would wait a couple of minutes before ruining the perfect moment.

A few moments later he stopped. He stood up and gently kissed her hair as he whispered good night. Hermione lay there in shock over what he'd just done. After a couple minutes of laying there she turned around to find Ron already asleep. She laughed quietly at how fast he could fall asleep. She leaned forward to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. As she got closer to his face, his eyes opened wide and he yelled. Hermione clamped a hand over his mouth so he didn't wake up anyone. They stared at each other for a couple minutes before realizing how close their faces were to each other. Ron didn't know what to say so he waited for Hermione to say something first.

"Sorry." She whispered.

"For what? You didn't do anything." Ron said quickly.

"I scared you obviously. If I hadn't scared you then you wouldn't have yelled."

"Oh. Um…It's okay." Ron said. He quickly pulled away before he was tempted to kiss her. "I guess you want me to leave now." He said as he stood up.

"No!" Hermione yelled as she grabbed his wrist. Ron looked down at her hand, confused at the sudden touch. Hermione saw the look on his face as she let go. "Don't go." She whispered.

"I thought you didn't trust me?"

"I…I'm working on it."

"What do you mean?"

"You have no idea how badly I _want_ to trust you. What if you get asked out by a bunch of other girls and forget about me?"

"I will _never_ forget about you, and as for other girls, I don't _want_ anyone else." He said as he got up and sat on Hermione's bed. He took her hands in his and when she didn't pull away he continued. "I love _you_. You're the only one I want."

Hermione put her arms around Ron and pressed her face into his chest. Ron was surprised, but didn't hesitate to put his arms around him. They stayed like that for a while and eventually Hermione fell asleep.

When she woke the following morning she searched the room for Ron. After a couple minutes of wondering where he could be she remembered what Ginny had said about him leaving in the morning. She flopped back down on the bed thinking about him. She thought about him until she eventually fell asleep again.


	14. Chapter 14

Ron quietly entered the common room and tip toed up the stairs so that he wouldn't wake anyone. As he was about to slide under the covers he was startled by Harry.

"What are you doing up this early? It's Sunday. Shouldn't you still be sleeping?" Ron asked him. It wasn't like he'd been caught at anything. Harry _and_ Ginny knew that he went to the hospital wing every night, except Harry was the only one who actually knew the real reason that he went. Ginny thought that they'd been talking every night.

"Yeah, but I couldn't fall back asleep. I didn't know that you came back this early."

"Well I thought about staying there for another hour or so to sleep, but I probably wouldn't be able to wake up on time. I didn't get much sleep last night, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed."

"Why didn't you get much sleep? Isn't that what you do pretty much the whole time?"

"I didn't get a lot of sleep because just as I was about to fall asleep, I felt like this presence right next to me and I woke up. Hermione had woken up and we started talking. Then out of nowhere she hugged me and was pretty much in my lap because I was on her bed. She eventually fell asleep, but I didn't want to wake her up so I fell asleep like that. Then in the middle of the night I woke up again and laid her back down on her the bed while I went and fell asleep in the chair."

"_She_ hugged _you_?"

"Yeah. She said she wanted to trust me and I think that she's trying to get over the not being touched problem."

"How long do you think it'll be before she trusts you completely again?"

"I don't know, but she gets out of the hospital tomorrow, so then I can start doing something." Ron said as climbed under the blanket and quickly fell asleep.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry watched Ron for a minute while he slept soundlessly. He tried to fall back to sleep, but he couldn't. After laying there motionless for about an hour he decided to get his firebolt and go down to the quidditch pitch.

The sun was just coming up and it wasn't extremely cold in the morning like it normally was. Harry had worn a coat outside, but took it off when he got to the pitch. At first He wondered why there was no one in the pitch like there usually was, but then he remembered that it was only six in the morning. He flew around for about an hour or two before heading back to the castle. As he headed back to the common room he realized that he hadn't visited Hermione all week. He quickly turned the opposite way and headed for the hospital wing.

When he got to the hospital wing he wasn't surprised to see Hermione up and working on homework. He slowly walked over to her bed. She didn't look up until he was a couple feet away.

"Oh, Harry. It's so good to see you. I haven't seen you all week. I was so stupid. I should've known better than to stand so close to the water. If someone hadn't came, I would've drown-"

"Hermione, I know what really happened." Harry cut her off. He didn't want to hear her explain the lie she'd been telling people.

"Oh…well…I don't want to talk about it, so just change the subject."

"Okay. Um, you're coming back to classes tomorrow aren't you?"

"Yes. I'm so excited to see everyone."

"Well at least you have all your homework done already. It'll be like you were never gone. Classes have been so boring without you. Ron just sits there with a glum look on his face. It's so depressing.

"Depressed? I can't picture Ron depressed. He's always so happy. Why would he be depressed?"

"I'm guessing he misses you, but sometimes I think he's plotting his revenge on Malfoy." He said with a laugh.

"Why would he miss me? I've been gone before. It's not like I've never been gone." Hermione said in a disbelieving tone. She didn't know that Harry had know about them.

"Don't worry, Hermione. I already know about you and Ron."

"Oh. Okay."

"Listen, I've got to go do my homework, so I'll see you tomorrow. By the way, Ron really does love you. Don't doubt the way he fells about you." He said as he disappeared out the door.


	15. Chapter 15

When Harry entered the common room, Ron was sitting on the couch staring at the fire. He walked quietly over to the couch and then dropped his hand on the back of it, trying to get his attention. Ron knew it was Harry, but didn't acknowledge his presence.

"Ron what's wrong?" Harry asked nervously. He thought that he might be mad at him again.

"What?" Ron said, finally snapping out of it.

"I _said_, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about Hermione and how I'm going to kill Malfoy.

"Oh. Well that's _definitely_ nothing." Harry said with a laugh. "Stop thinking about Malfoy for a second and come get breakfast with me."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about breakfast."

"Well, we can't have _that_, can we?" Harry joked as they headed down to the great hall.

~~*~~*~~*~~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

On the way down to breakfast they had run into Ginny and all three of them had walked down together. Ron didn't waste any time. As soon as they sat down he was shoveling food into his mouth. Harry and Ginny sat there and stared at hi like he was an idiot. Ron was so busy eating that he didn't even notice the fact that Lavender was standing next to him. He turned to look at her, expecting her to yell at him some more.

"Can I talk to you?" She whispered.

"About what? I don't have anything to say to you." He said as he swallowed his food.

"I…Can I talk to you in _private_?"

"Fine." He said with a sigh as he followed her out into the corridor. As he turned to look at her, she flung herself at him. Her mouth was glued to his before he even realized that she'd kissed him.

"Well it's about time Weasley got some sense. I never thought he'd figure out that mudbloods are no good." Came a cold voice from behind them. Ron had to resist the urge to kill him right then. He didn't have a plan yet and he wanted to make sure that everything went as planned.

"Shove off, Malfoy." He said angrily.

"Ooh, touchy." He said nastily as he walked into the great hall.

"I miss you." Lavender squeaked. Ron turned around surprised. He forgot she had been there the whole time.

"What are you talking about?"

"I said I miss you. I think that we should give it another shot. Don't you miss me at all?" She asked jutting her lower lip out.

"I'm sorry, but no. I've had a lot more important things on my mind. I haven't had anytime to think about our so called "relationship"."

"What do you mean so called? We _were_ in a relationship. How can you forget all the good times we had together?"

"What good times are you talking about? We were only together for like two days."

"Can you honestly say that you didn't enjoy snogging me?"

"Yes, I can. The only way that I could stand it was if I pretended that you were Hermione."

"Seriously, why do you even _like_ her?"

"She's nice, smart, beautiful, fun to be around, and she's different. All you and the rest of the girls care about is makeup, boys, and the way you look. None of you care about anything else."

"That's not true. I care about other things too."

"Like what?"

"I care about my _grades_. I'm just as smart as she is _and_ I'm fun to be around."

"You're _not_ as smart as she is and you're _really_ not that fun to be around. I can't even carry on a conversation with you because you're so stupid." Ron said. He felt bad for saying it, but it was true. Lavender turned around and ran away crying. He silently walked back to the table and sat down.

"What did she want?" Harry asked curiously.

"She said she wanted to give it another try, but I said no." Ron said lifelessly.

Harry asked a couple more questions, but after realizing that Ron wasn't going to give any better answers, he stopped. They sat in silence for the rest of breakfast and they didn't talk for the rest of the day. Ron wasn't mad at him. He just wasn't in the mood to talk anymore. They both went to bed, eager for tomorrow. Harry hoped that the return of Hermione would make Ron happier.

**(A/N) Sorry if this is a crappy chapter. If I made it any longer I would end up having tremendous writers block. I needed to get this day over with a s quick as possible because I have a bunch of ideas for what's going to happen when Hermione gets back. And I might not be updating as quickly as I have been because now I'm working on another story.**


	16. Chapter 16

Ron woke up at six thirty the next morning, which was early for him considering that he usually slept until ten o' clock. As he showered and dressed he remembered that it was Monday. Hermione would be coming back to classes today. Ron was eager to see her and he didn't want to have to wait until breakfast. He hurried off to the hospital wing to sit by her until she woke up. When she woke up he planned on walking with her back to the common room so she could change and then he would walk with her down to breakfast.

He was surprised when he saw Hermione already up and gathering her things when he arrived. He didn't know why he'd expected her to be asleep at this time of day. He knew that she always woke up early. He knocked lightly on the door before walking over. Hermione turned to see what the noise was and when she saw Ron she smiled slightly.

"Good morning. Do you need any help?"

"Um… I think I can handle it." She said. They sat in silence for a couple minutes before either of them spoke again.

"You didn't come back yesterday." She said in an accusatory tone.

"Oh…uh, yeah. I, um… I was busy."

"Okay, well I'm going to go put my stuff back in my room and then head down to breakfast. If you want to you come with me." She said as she picked up her things and started walking towards the door.

"Yeah, I'll come with you." He said as he ran to catch up with her. They walked in silence, both thinking about the other. Hermione was thinking about how nice it felt to be able to walk next to him again when he wasn't mad at her anymore. Ron was thinking about how beautiful she was and how desperately he wanted to hold her hand.

"I'll be right back." She said as they entered the common room and she ran up the stairs. Ron sat on the couch to wait until she came back down when he remembered that they'd see Malfoy at breakfast. He knew that he'd have to be the one to tell her about Lavender or else she'd be even madder at him. If he could just explain what happened then maybe she'd understand. He eventually decided that he was going to tell her as soon as she came downstairs.

"I'm ready." Came Hermione's voice from the stairs like she's known what he was thinking and wanted to make him more nervous. Just as she was about to walk away he grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.

"Hermione, I have to tell you something. I just don't want you finding out fro anybody else."

"Ron, what did you do?" She asked cautiously.

"Um, well, yesterday Lavender kissed me."

"What?"

"She told me that she wanted to talk then she kissed me and told me she wanted to give us another try, but I said no. Malfoy saw us as soon as she kissed me though and I know that if he sees you he's going to say something. I thought that you'd be a lot happier if you'd found out from me rather than Malfoy, so I'm telling you now." He said. Hermione just stared at him for what seemed like forever before saying anything.

"So, _she_ kissed _you_?"

"Yes."

"Well. There's nothing I can really do _now_, so oh well. Let's just forget it ever happened." She suggested.

"That's a great idea." He said with a relieved sigh. He'd thought that she was going to get a lot madder than she'd actually gotten.

"Shall we go to breakfast then?" Hermione said as she looked up at him. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was thinking about something else. She had to shake him lightly to get his attention back.

"Hmm?" He mumbled as he refocused.

"I said shall we go to breakfast then?"

"Yes, we _shall_." He said with a laugh. Hermione playfully smacked his arm as they walked out of the common room and down to the great hall.


	17. Chapter 17

As they walked down to breakfast, Ron had to resist the urge to put his arms around her. The whole way down he kept glancing sideways, but she didn't seem to notice this fact as she stared straight forward. Once they reached the door to the great hall Ron turned to face Hermione.

"Are you ready?" He asked. He would've been more than happy if she'd wanted to go somewhere else away from everybody else.

"Yes." Was all she said. They walked through the door and it was as if she'd never been gone. She got the occasional "welcome back" as she walked over to the empty space across from Harry and Ginny, but that was all that anyone else said to her.

"Hey, Hermione" Harry and Ginny both said brightly as she sat down.

"Hi guys" She said and started to put food on her plate.

"What? I don't get a hi?" Ron asked with fake hurt in his voice.

"Well, we've seen you every day. Hermione's been gone so she gets a hi." Ginny said jokingly.

"Not even a hi from you, Harry?"

"What?" Harry said confusedly. He'd obviously not been paying attention. A small smile appeared on Hermione's face as she ate and watched what was happening between them.

"Never mind. So what's that you're working on?" Ron asked when he saw the piece of parchment that he was writing on.

"Oh, this? It's some plans for quidditch practice."

"Oh. Hermione, you should try out for the quidditch team. Then it would be all four of us." Ron suggested. Hermione could tell by his tone that he wasn't joking and almost choked on her food.

"Yeah, okay." You know I'm horrible at flying and I'm terrified of heights. Besides you've already had try outs." Hermione said proud that there was no way that he could force her to join the team.

"Yeah, but Harry's captain. He could probably get you in. Couldn't you?"

"Um…"

"No. I wouldn't want to join that way anyway."

"Why?"

"It's unethical."

"Unethical my butt. Who cares about ethics?"

"_I_ do."

"I see you two are back to your normal bickering." Ginny said.

"We're not…" Hermione started, but then stopped when she realized that they _were_ bickering. Her face started to turn red from embarrassment as she turned her attention back to her food. Ron felt stupid for arguing with her, but was happy that she wasn't acting too different than she usually did when they were together. It relaxed him because it made him feel like nothing had happened and everything was like it should be. Well, almost. He still had to get her back. He could barely keep himself from staring at her red face. He thought that she looked even more beautiful when she blushed.

Throughout the rest of breakfast Ron and Hermione tried not to bicker. Ginny and Harry kept laughing at them every time they stopped themselves from saying something that might start a fight.

"Come on. I'm sure that Snape will be pleased to have you back in class." Harry said sarcastically as they got up.

"I'm sure that if Ron hadn't gone to get my homework for me he wouldn't have even noticed the fact that I was gone."

"He would've noticed that you were gone, but he wouldn't have cared. He would just start taking points from Gryffindor."

Just as they were about to leave, Malfoy walked past Ron and smirked at him. They didn't know what he'd meant by it, but Harry held Ron's arm just in case he decided to go after him. Hermione pretended not to have noticed that anything had happened as she continued to walk down the corridor.


	18. Chapter 18

Harry and Ron followed her in silence. Hermione wasn't looking forward to potions. It was one of the only classes that she had with Malfoy and she was still nervous about seeing him. She walked forward staring straight ahead, not seeing anything. She hadn't noticed that they were there until she noticed that there was a group of people not moving. Ron came up next to Hermione and stood oddly close. Harry silently stood behind them watching the crowd.

"Hey, Granger." Malfoy called over the noise.

"What does _he_ want?" Ron growled as Malfoy made his way over to them.

"Meet me at _our_ spot during lunch." He said with a smirk as he winked at her. This time Harry didn't hold Ron back as he hurled his fist towards Malfoy's face. It had happened so fast that Hermione could barely understand what had just happened. All she knew was that one second they were standing up and he next they were on the floor. Ron was repeatedly punching Malfoy in the face with so much force that he had a bloody nose after the second hit.

"Get off of me you stupid blood traitor." Malfoy pushed Ron off of him and stood up, whipping out his wand in the process. Ron was just getting up when Malfoy kicked him and he fell back down. Every time he tried to get up he was kicked back down. After a couple blows to the side he stopped trying to get up and just laid there. This however didn't stop Malfoy as he kept kicking him around.

"Stop it!" Hermione screamed.

"Oh, shut up." He said pushing her aside. "Get up, Weasley!" He said tauntingly as he waved his wand and Ron was forced to get up.

"Expel-" Ron started to say, but fell over when Malfoy used the locomotor mortis curse.

"Impedimenta!" He yelled as Harry started to run towards him. He flew backward with a loud thud closely behind Hermione.

"Relashio!" Hermione yelled, releasing Ron. He quickly got up and shouted Expelliarmus, but Malfoy turned and blocked it.

"Stupefy!" Malfoy yelled and Ron went flying backwards onto the floor next to Harry.

All of the sudden Snape emerged from the circle that had formed around them.

"Fighting in the corridors? Well of _course_ Potter's part of it. Oh, and Weasley and Granger too? Well this is _not_ good. Gryffindor may not have any house points left after this little incident."

"That's not fair! You had to have seen Malfoy cursing Harry and Ron."

"Mr. Malfoy was merely defending himself."

"That's a lie!"

"Did Draco attack Mr. Weasley first?'

"No, but…"

"Did he attack _Potter_ first then?"

"No, but…"

"Then therefore he was defending himself."

"He attacked me!" She yelled interrupting him. Malfoy shot her a glare and she suddenly felt afraid.

"What do you mean he attacked _you_?" Snape asked coldly, but with curiosity.

"He…Pushed me." She said for it was the only thing she could think to say. Snape raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"He _pushed _you and you little friends felt the need to _attack _him?"

"Yes." She said with a sigh. She had a feeling that she'd be in detention again.

"Well, that is simply no reason to attack someone. Bring them to the hospital wing and when they're conscious again inform them that the three of you will be spending tomorrow evening in detention with me at seven o' clock. Oh, and maybe you should lie down. That push must've taken a great toll on your health." He said sarcastically and led the class into the classroom. She managed to wake Harry up so that he could help her bring Ron to the hospital wing. As they walked away she quickly check behind her to see if Snape was still there and when she saw that he wasn't she turned back around and kept walking.


	19. Chapter 19

When Hermione brought Ron and Harry to the hospital wing no one else had been there so Madam Pomfrey had been able to help them at once. She'd said that Harry could leave that night, but unless Ron woke up he'd have to stay over night. Hermione sat in a chair placed in between Ron and Harry's beds. Harry had fallen back asleep and now she had no one to talk to. She was surprised that Ginny hadn't come yet. The news of what had happened had to have gotten around by now. Knowing Malfoy, he'd be bragging about how he'd gotten the 'mudblood and her little friends'. Hermione lost her train of thought as Ron stirred in the bed next to her.

"Oh, Ron. You're awake!" She said happily.

"Ugh." He groaned in pain.

"What is it? What hurts?" She said as she stood up and started fussing over him.

"You're too _loud_."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…does anything else hurt?"

"My back hurts a little, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"I should call Madam Pomfrey." She said as she started to get up, but Ron grabbed her arm and pulled her into a sitting position on his bed. "What are you doing? Madam Pomfrey needs to know that you're awake."

"It can wait."

"What do you mean it can wait? If I don't tell her you're going to have to stay here overnight."

"Will you just calm down? Jeez! You're more worked up over this that I am and _I'm_ the one who's injured. Let's just talk about something else."

"Fine. Guess what?"

"What?"

"We have detention tomorrow night with Snape."

"What?! For what? Malfoy started it. Does _he_ have detention?"

"No. Snape said that what he did wasn't bad enough for you two to attack him. He insisted that you did it on your own without any provocation. It's totally unfair, but when has Snape ever been fair?"

"Well at least we can talk this time." Ron said as Hermione gave him a puzzled look. "Last time we had detention with Snape we were fighting. Now we're talking again _and_ Harry's going to be there too so it shouldn't be _too_ bad." He explained.

"So if Harry wasn't there it would be _bad_?" She asked jokingly. Ron hadn't caught the joke and immediately jumped to his defense.

"No, no, no! That's not what I mean at all. I was just saying that Harry will be there too so it'll be even more fun than it would've been with just us." He said quickly, but _she_ wasn't finished messing with him.

"So if it was just us it wouldn't be as fun? Are you saying that I'm not fun?"

"_No!_ I…" He stammered. "I…I don't _know_ what I'm saying. I'm just going to shut up now." He said as he clapped a hand over his mouth. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at him.

"What's so funny?" He asked her. _He _didn't find anything funny about this situation.

"You…your face…so scared." Was all she could get out since she was laughing so hard that she was gasping for air. When she was finally able to breathe correctly she said, "The look on your face was so hilarious. You looked so scared."

"Well you'd be scared too if you were getting _you_ mad."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" She said seriously now.

"_Now_ you're mad? All _I'm_ saying is that getting you mad is just something you _don't_ want to do."

"And, _why_ is that?"

"Well, you're sort of vicious when you're angry. You don't talk to us and if you do you're just nagging us about what we did in the first place." As he said this his voice kept getting quieter and quieter. Hermione had a look on her face full of rage. She looked like she was about to jinx him or worse. All of the sudden she got up in a huff and left. Ron stared at the door through which she'd just disappeared through and then at Madam Pomfrey's office. He figured that if he called Madam Pomfrey then she might not let him leave, but if he left very quietly she'd never even know…unless she came back out before he returned. After mulling it over in his head for a couple minutes he decided that he'd risk it. He got up, put his shoes back on, grabbed his wand and his bag off the table, and ran out the door hoping that he wouldn't have to search the whole castle to find her.


	20. Chapter 20

When Ron got to the common room he was gasping for breath. He'd ran as fast as he could despite his aching back. Filch had stopped him a couple corridors away from the hospital wing and told him to stop running. Once he'd rounded the corner he started running again. Nearly Headless Nick had looked at him strangely as he floated past him. He'd almost run into McGonagall, but stopped quick enough to let her pass, then he proceeded to run even faster to the portrait of the fat lady. He'd practically collapsed when he'd gotten there.

"Well, are you going to come _in_?" The fat lady asked rather rudely, but obviously annoyed at having to wait for him to say the password.

"_Jeez_! Give me a second. Can't you see I'm _dying_ here?" He said as he slowly got up off the floor. The portrait had swung open unusually fast when he'd said the word "GillyWeed."

He walked slowly hoping that h=when he turned the corner he'd see Hermione. When he got to the corner he looked around the room. Hermione was sitting on the couch just as he'd hoped, but…she was crying. As Ron watched her he felt a sudden repulsiveness towards himself. He'd made her cry _again_. He couldn't stand making her cry and every time he did he'd vow to himself that he'd never do it again, but then a week would pass and he'd do it again. How was he ever going to earn her trust back and show her that he really loved her if all he did was make her cry? This time would be different though. This time he was going to make _sure_ that he didn't make her cry again. He promised himself that Hermione Granger would never shed another tear over Ron Weasley again. He knew what he was going to have to do in order to keep his promise as he headed to the library.

There weren't many people there when he arrived so he was able to get one of the secluded tables in the back. As he made his way to the back he thought about what he was about to do. He sat down at a table, pulled a piece of paper and a quill out of his bag and began to write. It didn't take him long to write a page and a half which was surprising considering that it took him hours upon hours to write an essay for homework. He was done within ten minutes and made his way back to the common room. As he turned into the corridor leading to Gryffindor Tower he ran into Nearly Headless Nick who this time had something to say.

"Miss Granger seems quite distressed. I'd get in there if I were you."

"What are you going on about?"

"Miss Granger is in Gryffindor tower crying over what _you've_ done. _You_ need to go fix it."

"How do you know _I_ did something?"

"Us ghosts have our ways." He said and disappeared through a nearby wall. What he'd said made Ron worry that she might be going mad. He certainly didn't want her to go insane over this and started walking even faster to the portrait. The fat lady gave him a look of annoyance and swung open without comment this time. He was confused as to where Hermione had gone when he walked out of the shadows. She wasn't there like Nearly Headless Nick had said. As he walked further into the common room he saw that she was still there she was just sleeping. Her eyes were red and puffy and one could still see a few tears on her cheeks. She didn't look happy, but she looked peaceful; like she was finally out of her misery. Ron didn't want to disturb her so he put the small folded piece of paper on her stomach to make sure she found it. He watched her for a couple minutes as a tear rolled down her cheek before leaving again. This time he was going to Dumbledore's office.


	21. Chapter 21

As Ron got closer to the stone gargoyle he realized that he didn't know the password. He couldn't believe he was so stupid. He thought about asking McGonagall, but she'd probably ask him why he needed to see him and this was something that he didn't really want to tell a lot of people. _Especially _McGonagall. If she knew what he was doing she probably wouldn't let him go. Luckily for him, just as he was about five feet away from the gargoyle Dumbledore came striding out the doorway.

"Professor! I…um…I need to talk to you."

"Yes, Mr. Weasley? What is it?"

"Um, can we talk in private?"

"Certainly." He said with a smile and turned back towards the gargoyle. Ron had only been in Dumbledore's office a couple times and was still amazed as they were lifted closer and closer to the door. Dumbledore opened the door and silently walked over to his desk and sat down. Ron however didn't move. He stood rooted to the spot in the doorway.

"Well, sit down." Dumbledore said gesturing to the chair that sat in front of his desk. Ron slowly walked over to the chair and sat down. "Now what is it you'd like to speak to me about, Mr. Weasley?"

"Well, I…um, I…I need to leave." He eventually spat out.

"I see. May I ask why?"

"It's complicated. It's just something I need to do."

"Well, I will not stop you if you wish to leave, but I must say that it is rather unfortunate. You were coming along well in your studies here at Hogwarts. But, if you insist…I will owl Hagrid and Nymphadora Tonks to assist you. You will meet Hagrid in the entrance hall and he will escort you to the platform where your trunk and Nymphadora will be waiting to assist you the rest of the way. Once you and Nymphadora are safely out of bounds you will apparate back to the burrow." He said as he scribbled on two pieces of parchment and gave them to Fawks to deliver. "It was a pleasure to have had you as a student." He said and shook Ron's hand. Ron walked away surprised that Dumbledore had let him go that easily.

Hermione opened her eyes slowly adjusting them to the light. She had to force them open since they felt like they were swollen shut. She tried to remember what she'd been doing on the couch when Crookshanks leapt onto her stomach, causing her to sit up. as she did something crinkled under Crookshanks. She carefully lifted the cat up to remove the object. It was a note addressed to her. She opened it curiously and started to read:

_Dear Hermione,_

_ I'm so, so, so sorry about what I said. I didn't mean it. And I _hate_ myself for making you cry over and over again. Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore. You'll never cry because of me ever again. I'll make sure of it. I'm going to Dumbledore's office right now to tell him that I'm leaving. Don't try and stop me. I'm doing this for _you_. I'm going to make sure that I never make you cry again because I _hate_ hurting you. Please tell Harry goodbye for me. I hope you find someone who deserves you and makes you happy._

_ I love you so much, Ron._

Hermione reread the last line over and over again as tears welled up in her eyes. How could he be gone? How could he leave her? He said he _loved_ her. How could he do this to her? Hermione had to fight off hysterics as she got up and started to run to Dumbledore's office. She thought that maybe if she got there quick enough she might be able to stop him. maybe Dumbledore wouldn't let him go. She was nearing his office as Dumbledore himself walked out.

"Professor Dumbledore!" She shouted.

"Yes, Miss Granger? How may I be of assistance?"

"Have you seen Ron?"

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact he just left my office a few minutes ago."

"Where's he going?" She asked hurriedly. Before he answered he she could have sworn that she heard him mutter "Just as I thought."

"He's heading to the platform with Hagrid, but Miss Granger-"

"Thank you!" She yelled as she ran back the way she'd come. Surprisingly it had only taken her a few minutes to reach the huge front doors. In the distance she could see Hagrid. He was so huge that she could see every detail, but Ron was a little spec walking next to him. She saw that they were almost to the platform and broke into and even faster sprint that before. She was determined to stop him.


	22. Chapter 22

I can't believe yer' leavin'. I always thought you three were goin' ter' stick together." Hagrid said in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah, so did I, but things change. This has to be done. It's for the best."

"Fer' the best? How can this be fer' the best?"

"It's complicated. I'm just trying to do the right thing."

"The righ' thing." He repeated. "Do Harry an' Hermione know abou' this?"

"Well, Hermione does. I asked her to tell Harry for me. I hope she does." He said quietly. They were approaching the platform and Ron could see Tonks already. Her hair was so bright it was hard _not_ to see her. She hadn't changed much since the last time he'd seen her except that this time she had bright red hair.

"Tonks." Hagrid greeted her gruffly when they'd reached her.

"Hagrid! Ron! It's so good to see you." She said enthusiastically. "Well, are you ready?"

"Yeah." He said dully as he looked once more back at the castle saying a silent goodbye to the place that had practically been his home for the past six years.

"Well, I'm goin' ter' miss yeh'. It jus' won' be the same without yeh'. " Hagrid said with tears in his eyes as he gave him a bone crushing hug.

"I'm sure I'll see you again after this. It's not like this will be the last time we ever see each other." Ron said reassuringly.

"We better get-" Tonks said, but stopped short as someone yelled from a ways away. Ron turned around just in time to see Hermione running towards him.

"Hermione? What are you…" He was cut off as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was so surprised that he'd almost fallen over, but quickly regained his balance as he realized what was happening. Hermione had obviously gotten his letter and had come down to stop him. This fact made his heart swell as he realized what it meant. She definitely didn't hate him for what he'd said and wanted him to come back. He kissed her back enthusiastically just happy that she'd come. Suddenly she removed her arms and looked at him fiercely. Now he was scared of what was to come.

"How could you do that to me? You say you love me and then you leave. You're not doing a good job _showing_ me that you love me."

"Don't you understand why I had to leave? I thought I was pretty clear as to why I was leaving."

"Oh, because you didn't want to hurt me? Did you ever think that you leaving would hurt me even worse? And, then you had the _nerve_ to tell me to be happy with someone else. Why would you think that that would make me feel better? That was pretty much like you saying that you want me to be with someone else instead of you."

"I thought it'd make you happy."

"_Happy?_ You idiot! The only thing that would make me happy would be you coming back to the castle with me and _staying_ so we can finally be together. Unless you don't want to make me happy and I thought that's what this whole thing was about."

"That would _really_ make you happy?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll come back." He said taking her hand in his. "I want to make you happy."

They had forgotten about Tonks and Hagrid's presence until Hagrid made a loud sniffing noise as he blew his nose loudly on his sleeve. They both turned red out of embarrassment of what they'd just done in front of other people.

"So you're _not_ leaving?" Tonks asked.

"No. I don't think I am." He said with a smile.

"Well, good. No, no, let me gat tha'." Hagrid said picking up Ron's trunk and staring on up the hill.

"Sorry for this, Tonks." Ron apologized.

"It's okay. I'll see you guys later." She said and started running the other way until she was out of bounds so she could apparate.

"So you trust me now?" Ron asked Hermione, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Completely." She answered simply. She gave him one more kiss before taking his hand and pulling him back towards the castle.

THE END


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